Stream damage under investigation
The region’s environmental watchdog has launched an investigation into damage at a South Taranaki stream.
A complaint over ‘‘instream works’’ by a tributary of the Waitekaure Stream in Pungarehu was laid with the Taranaki Regional Council (TRC) on October 4.
TRC director resource management Fred McLay said a council officer visited the site on the same day in response to the concerns. McLay said the investigation regarding the complaint was ongoing.
Tihikura Hohaia, of Taranaki iwi, has been a long-term advocate regarding the state of the Waitekaure Stream.
Once an important ancestral fishing spot, Hohaia raised concerns about the health of the waterway earlier this year, after dead tuna (eels) were found nearby.
He believed the recent damage could have been caused by heavy machinery, like a digger.
However, his worries about the stream are not new.
Hohaia has been critical in the past about TRC’s policing of environmental issues and he believed the penalties, when handed down, were not enough of a deterrent.
In 2014, Hohaia laid a complaint with TRC about earthworks being carried out in the Waitekaure catchment and the impact this was having on ancestral fish stocks.
Three further complaints about the Waitekaure Stream had been lodged with TRC since then.
In February 2016, concerns were raised about dead eels being found at the stream’s mouth, similar in nature to those raised earlier this year.
A further complaint about diversion works at the stream was made in April 2016.
However, a TRC inspection found the consent conditions were being adhered to.
The agency also responded to concerns raised in October 2017 about the stream being discoloured but no issues were evident at the time of inspection, the TRC previously said.
Hohaia said regardless of the investigation’s outcome, there were plans afoot to push ahead with initiatives to protect the stream.
He said representatives of the Whanganui-based Ma¯ori trust which owned the land where the stream was located planned to walk the property today.
Hohaia said the group was ‘‘really keen’’ to develop a long term strategy to bring the stream ‘‘back to life’’.
In July, Te Ka¯ hui o Taranaki, the iwi post settlement governance entity, unveiled its environmental strategy, known as Taiao, Taiora.
The document puts down on paper the Taranaki iwi viewpoint on best practice regarding issues to do with the natural environment in its rohe (area of interest).